The Rebels, the State and the People Inclusivity in the Aceh Peace Process
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The Rebels, the State and the People Inclusivity in the Aceh Peace Process Agus Wandi and Nezar Patria IPS Paper 18 Abstract This report analyses the negotiation and codification process of a new political settlement in Aceh, based on the 2005 Memorandum of Understanding with the Indonesian Government and the Law on Governing Aceh passed the following year. It addresses various aspects related to inclusivity in the Acehnese political settlement, and is guided by the following questions: How did the Aceh peace process deal with the issues of participation and representation? What were the key substantive demands of the Acehnese people and how were they negotiated by the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka – GAM) on their behalf? What impact did the peace agreement have on constructing an inclusive Aceh and rectifying the imbalanced centre-periphery relationship between Jakarta and Aceh? The report begins by explaining the background of the conflict leading up the peace talks, the issues pertaining to the subject-matter of inclusivity discussed during the Helsinki negotiations and the degrees of horizontal and vertical participation during the peace process. It then examines the two-staged codification process of the new political settlement before making concluding observations pertaining to the ongoing materialisation process and the linkages between political transformation in the centre (Jakarta) and the periphery (Aceh). © Berghof Foundation Operations GmbH – CINEP/PPP 2015. All rights reserved. About the Publication This paper is one of two case study reports on Aceh (Indonesia) produced in the course of the collaborative research project ‘Avoiding Conflict Relapse through Inclusive Political Settlements and State-building after Intra- State War’, running from February 2013 to June 2015. This project aimed to examine the conditions for inclusive political settlements following protracted armed conflicts, with a specific focus on former armed power contenders turned state actors. It also aimed to inform national and international practitioners and policy-makers on effective practices for enhancing participation, representation, and responsiveness in post-war state-building and governance. It was carried out in cooperation with the partner institutions CINEP/PPP (Colombia, Project Coordinators), Berghof Foundation (Germany, Project Research Coordinators), FLACSO (El Salvador), In Transformation Initiative (South Africa), Sudd Institute (South Sudan), Aceh Policy Institute (Aceh/Indonesia), and Friends for Peace (Nepal). The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Berghof Foundation, CINEP/PPP, or their project partners. To find more publications for this project please visit www.berghof-foundation.com. For further information, please contact the project research coordinator, Dr. Véronique Dudouet, at [email protected]. About the Authors Agus Wandi is a post-conflict consultant from Aceh (Indonesia), and is currently working for UNDP in Solomon Islands. He previously worked on DDR, conflict mediation and reconciliation issues in Asia, primarily in Indonesia and Afghanistan. He was an adviser to the Aceh Peace Resource Center, a USAID-funded project in support of the Aceh Reintegration Board. He is also a co-founder and Board Member of the Aceh Institute, an independent research- and policy-oriented institute based in Banda Aceh. He was educated in Indonesia and the UK, and was also a WCFIA fellow at Harvard University. Nezar Patria is an Indonesian journalist and writer. He is currently Vice-Editor-in-Chief of CNN Indonesia (online). He was previously a managing editor at VIVA.co.id, an editor for Tempo magazine (a leading Indonesian weekly), and a part-time analyst for International Crisis Groups, South East Asia Office, where he produced a number of reports on Aceh. Nezar is also an editor for Prisma, an Indonesian academic journal, and a board member of the Press Council of Indonesia. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics in the UK. This project has been funded with support from the International Development Research Center in Ottawa. To cite this paper: Agus Wandi and Nezar Patria 2015. The Rebels, the State and the People: Inclusivity in the Aceh Peace Process. Inclusive Political Settlements Papers 18, November. Berlin: Berghof Foundation. Via internet: www.berghof-foundation.org. Page 2 | 14 Table of Contents 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................4 2 The Revolt of the Periphery .................................................................................................................................4 3 Democratisation and the First Negotiation Attempt ............................................................................................5 4 In the Name of the People: Participation and Representation during the Helsinki Talks .....................................6 4.1 Horizontal inclusivity: Composition of the negotiation teams ............................................................................ 6 4.2 Vertical inclusivity: Consultation and information channels with civil society and the Acehnese public ............ 7 5 Negotiating a New Political Settlement for Aceh .................................................................................................8 5.1 Substantive negotiations during the Helsinki talks ........................................................................................... 8 5.2 Reform within the reform ................................................................................................................................... 9 6 The Peace Accord and Inclusiveness ............................................................................................................... 10 7 Codification of the New Settlement: From the MoU to the Law on Governing Aceh .......................................... 11 8 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................................... 12 References .............................................................................................................................................................. 14 List of Interviews .................................................................................................................................................... 14 List of Acronyms ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations CSO Civil Society Organisation CMI Crisis Management Initiative CoHA Cessation of Hostilities Agreement DOM Daerah Operasi Militer / Military Operation Region EU European Union GAM Gerakan Aceh Merdeka / Free Aceh Movement HDC Henry Dunant Centre (now Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue) MoU Memorandum of Understanding TRC Truth and Reconciliation Commission UUPA Udang-Udang Pemerintahan Aceh / Aceh Governing Law Page 3 | 14 1 Introduction The Aceh peace process, codified in a peace agreement and new national law (in 2005 and 2006 respectively), has led to a new power arrangement between the central government of Indonesia and the local government of Aceh. There are still several key issues pending, but a number of provisions are being – or have already been – implemented. Nevertheless, the peace agreement’s long-term impact in solving the 30 years of conflict between Aceh and Jakarta still remains to be seen. The political settlement negotiated in the Helsinki talks entailed Aceh’s right to manage its own affairs in social, political and economic matters. The focus was less on the power-sharing arrangement with former rebels, but rather on the possibility of all segments of the Acehnese people to rebuild their future and transform their society. Thus, the peace agreement was expected not only to ‘transform the rebel’, but also to transform society. This paper focuses on various aspects related to inclusivity in the Acehnese political settlement, and is guided by the following questions: How did the Aceh peace process deal with the issues of participation and representation? What were the key substantive demands of the Acehnese people and how were they negotiated by the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka – GAM) on their behalf? What impact did the peace agreement have on constructing an inclusive Aceh and rectifying the imbalanced centre-periphery relationship between Jakarta and Aceh? Our study is based on a review of relevant literature and interviews with actors who participated in the peace process, especially on the side of GAM, the former power contenders who later became local power-holders. The paper begins by explaining the background of the conflict leading up the peace talks, and the issues discussed during the Helsinki roundtable negotiations. It then examines the two-staged codification process of the new political settlement before making concluding observations.1 2 The Revolt of the Periphery The Aceh conflict was the result of failed state-building. Indonesia is one of the most heterogeneous countries in the world, with various ethnic groups and thousands of islands dispersed in the region. The root of rebellion in Indonesia, including in Aceh, can be attributed to the government’s failure to create a common notion of the nation-state. The Acehnese, like a few other ethnic and peripheral groups, had felt excluded from Indonesia’s common nation-building